24 Hours Till Midnight
by Vivid Tear
Summary: International jewel thief Annabeth knew the rules very well: Don't fall in love. Too bad she just had to bump into that green-eyed boy at the coffee shop. She was a dangerous person to be seen with, but he didn't have to know that.
1. Chapter 1

A/N

Hi! :D

So, I decided to write a new series; no it will _not_ include ducks. People nowadays… -.-

Anyways, I decided to write a new series since Carnival is done and I need more projects-

...Yes, I'll continue my other stories. STOP INTERUPPTING ME.

As I was saying, new series with Annabeth as the narrator- Oh my gosh, my English teacher would be so proud of me for using good vocabulary! :D

Ah-hem, as I was saying…

I forgot.

Dang it; just read.

Dedicated to my pal, Alexander Caesar. Love you! :3

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><p>"Turn right at the next intersection."<p>

My partner-in-crime's voice echoed from the comms unit as I crawled through the air vents. We were at one of the countless museums in New York, and I would definitely recommend bringing a fan if you plan on crawling through air vents at approximately ten o' clock at night

Dust bunnies were everywhere and I freaked out every time I saw a spider. Yeah; too bad I didn't bring a stupid fan.

As I rounded the corner, I noticed some light coming through the opening. There in the center of the room was a glistening ruby the size of my fist. I cleared my throat so Thalia would notice.

"Thals, I'm outside the room. Now what?" I heard her tap on her laptop- stolen straight from the company, by the way- and open the map.

"Hmmm, I have no freaking clue. I'd say grab that ruby somehow and back out because guards are coming in ten minutes."

And that is why Thalia Grace is not the kind of person you would want as your lookout.

Fortunately for me, the security camera was a foot away from my perch. I disabled it using my toolbox of tools. (Totally different than the ordinary if you're a spy.)

Eight minutes.

I jumped down noiselessly and took out my perfume from my belt. No, it wasn't the kind you spray on yourself. In fact, that would probably be hazardous.

I daintily sprayed it at the surroundings to unveil the security beams. I bent under and hopped over them at ease. Apparently those years of ballet paid off.

Five minutes.

There was a glass case over the ruby, and if I were to touch it directly, the police would find out. No; that's what the gloves were for.

I took out rubber gloves from the side compartment of my backpack and slipped them on. I tried pushing the case, pulling the case, tapping the case.

That was, until I noticed how stupid I was. Ducking under the velvet, I saw that the bottom was open. I pulled the ruby off and ducked back out.

Smoothly bumping my head.

I watched in horror as the glass case toppled over and shattered. The alarm ran, and I quickly placed the ruby in the pack and pulled out suction cups.

Five and a half seconds.

Pushing them on my hands and feet, I ran to the wall. I climbed up to the opening out of breath. I could hear footsteps approaching.

I backed into the darkness. Pulling off the suctions, I listened as the door slammed open. Guards came rushing in, freaking out and swearing loudly. Yup, these were New Yorkers all right.

"Oh my fucking god! Dan, will you look at this?"

"Crap. We are _so _getting fired."

"Boss man will have our ass."

"Guys! Quit standing around like freaking idiots! Someone call the police!"

"Damn it all. Joe, call the cops. I am going to see if I can catch those bastards and beat them with my own fucking hands."

I waited for them to get out before crawling hastily out. On the roof, Thalia was all packed up and waiting. Her face broke out into a grin when she saw me.

"Hey, Annie! Got the ruby? Come on, I can hear the police coming." Pulling my hand, she rushed off.

We had impossible training, complete with master instructors. Really. We had:

Rock climbing. (with lava rising up.)

Lock picking. (It's really useful. Especially when you locked yourself out of your own house.)

Foot racing. (No comment.)

Swimming class. (In case we have to jump into the freezing ocean from a very tall cliff.)

And hurdles. Especially when we don't have massive buildings to use as practice.

We jumped from building to building, police sirens forming at the entrance of the museum. Traffic got worse, which unfortunately added honking to the mix.

As we ran, Thalia conversed to me as easily as if she were taking a leisurely stroll around Central Park. She gazed below at the flashing lights.

"Police are getting dumber by the minute, Annabeth. Bet you they think we're men." She gave a short laugh, her mouth curving into a smirk.

As we neared the end of the buildings, I got ready to jump. The police sounds were getting fainter by the second. I smiled; we were home free.

The last building was a short brick building, a little like a coffee shop. I practically drooled over the delicious smells.

Did I mention I hadn't eaten a single thing since twelve?

Thalia was a few feet behind me, probably starving too. We jumped down into the back and brushed ourselves off.

She groaned at me, a hand placed on her stomach. "Oh my god, Annabeth. I'm _starving. _Let's go buy something. Come on; it's on me." I couldn't argue to that.

As we opened the door, the little bells signaled our arrival. The store was fairly empty. A TV was positioned on the wall, tuned into the news.

"Good evening, this is Rebecca Johnson. Reports of a local robbery have been announced. The ruby is rumored to be at least five million dollars in U.S. currency. Beware, as the thieves are probably still lurking around somewhere. Now, back to Sam with the sports report."

The person behind the counter sighed. Facing us, he frowned. "There is never any peace and quiet here. Robbery this, murder that. That's New York for you."

We giggled. Too bad we were the ones who did this. Glancing at the menu, Thalia cleared her throat. "Can I have a regular black coffee and a croissant?" The man wrote down the order.

"And a medium coffee with extra cream and milk for me. Oh, and a blueberry muffin." The man turned his back to make the coffee. We sat down at a booth by the windows.

Thalia yawned. "I haven't slept for _hours. _Plus we have another late night job tomorrow. I might just collapse right now."

I nodded as I put down my backpack. There were too many things to steal nowadays. Standing up, I smiled at Thalia. "At least this isn't boring."

I took the food. Motioning for Thalia to follow, I held open the door. She grabbed her coffee and croissant from me.

"Have a safe night!" The baker called to us. We were half way across the street when I remembered. "Stay here, Thals. I forgot my backpack." She smiled and took my food.

Darting across the street again, I took a step on the sidewalk, and then stopped. A stranger with striking green eyes was holding my bag. He grinned when he saw me.

He stepped closer. "Hey; is this your bag? You left it in there." I nodded and gratefully took it from him. He was kind of cute…

_No, Annabeth, _I told myself. Thieves and normal people don't mix. They never do. It never worked out.

He noticed my distant expression. "You okay? Anyway, I'm Percy." I smiled, trying to prevent my embarrassed blush. Thalia was waiting rather impatiently across the street; although I saw her lips curl up in a grin.

"I'm Annabeth. Nice to meet you." His eyes sparkled at me. He was a nice guy, unlike other jerks I'd met.

"Nice. It's getting kind of late. See you later, Annabeth." With a wave and a smirk, he walked away. I walked across the street with a small blush.

Thalia was grinning. "Ooooh, Annie's got a _crush." _I punched her in the side. Thalia started laughing at me.

"Do not!" A small breeze chilled the air. I slipped my hands into the jacket pockets. Thalia walked ahead, but I stayed back.

I pulled out a small slip of paper from the pocket.

_978-232-3405_

_Call me. -Percy_

He had no idea what he was getting himself into. But then again, neither did I.

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><p>AN

Hi!

I'm done. So, how was it? I'm sorry about that little argument up there. It wasn't on purpose. Really. It wasn't. :3

Read and review! Wait, you probably read already since you're down here…

But you might have skipped. But what if you didn't?

Anyways…

…

I LIKE ICECREAM.

Bye~ ;)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N

I decided to make another chapter of 24HTM because unfinished one-chapter stories are lame. That's the only reason. :D

I don't know how many chapters this story will have, so don't ask. I'm not a planner; really.

I am now beta-ing! I'm not sure what to do, but whatever. I'll learn. I think. Well, it'll help if someone PM-ed me… -hint, hint-

A brief camo entrance by my friend, 78meg9. Hope you like it, Meggy! :D

That's it for now! Now, enjoy.

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><p><em><strong>Half-Blood campus<strong>_

_**December 20**_

_**10:00 A.M.**_

"So, how'd you do on that exam?"

Thalia patted a snowball until it was near perfection. She frowned and rolled it across her mittens. I rolled my eyes at her, wrapping my scarf tighter.

"I'm on the Athena team for a reason, Thals." Our school was weird. An elite school for thieves, we were divided into groups based on our specialties. Chiron, our principal, just happened to love Greek mythology.

She laughed, her dark hair floating in the breeze. A group of boys stood by the signature pine tree, staring at her in awe. I rolled my eyes; Thalia's constant admirers. Too bad they didn't know that she was in the Zeus team _and _the Artemis team.

"That was a stupid question. Sorry. Want to hit downtown later?" Before I could answer, she pelted me with the snowball. I smirked and showed her my stash of snowballs hiding behind me. She gasped in horror as I hit her in the head.

Finally the snowballs were gone. "Come _on. _We've got to be back by eight for that mission. Our _grade _depends on it. By the way, I totally won. Brunch is on you." I protested loudly, but Thalia just clucked her tongue and grabbed my arm. She then proceeded to drag me.

_**Café**_

_**Downtown Manhattan**_

_**11:00 A.M.**_

"Two hot chocolates, please!"

I counted out the money and laid it on the counter. We were at the same café as before, except this time, the place was all decorated in time for the holidays.

Thalia gasped and pointed towards the door. Outside, a familiar person was standing outside talking into a phone.

I stepped closer. It was a good thing I was wearing my magnifying earrings (in the shape of an owl).

"I'm telling you, Nico! Come on and meet me at the café. What _other _café? …Yeah, okay. Tell Grover to come too. I don't know why I put up with you. You're lucky we're related."

As he snapped his phone, he seemed to sense someone staring at him. Spinning around, he grinned and entered the café.

"Hey, Annabeth, right? It's been a while!" Behind me, Thalia was smirking. Giving me the hot chocolates, she dramatically cleared her throat.

"I'm Thalia; thanks for asking. If you'll please excuse me, I _must _use the restroom." Giving me a wink, she spun around and headed towards the back. Percy took the tray from me and set it down at a near-by table.

He sat down. "So, how's life?" I rolled my eyes and settled down on the bench.

"Good. Aren't you going to order anything?" He laughed and shook his head, smirking secretly. I wondered if he knew how cute he looked at the moment. I wouldn't tell him, of course.

"Nope. My cousin Nico owes me a hot chocolate for… letting him stay over for a few nights. My best friend might come too if he's finished with his homework." He said _homework _like it wasn't really.

I grinned; he was so easy to talk to. "What high school?" He seemed to think about it for a minute before looking at me.

"Goode High. I'm sixteen and a junior. You?" I hesitated for a few seconds. Could I really tell him? As long as I didn't give any secrets I would be fine.

"Cool, we're the same age. I go to… Half-Blood High." Right at that moment, the door burst open. A pale kid with emo-styled hair walked in. Another with curly brown hair followed. Percy stood up and waved.

He grinned at me. "That's Nico di Angelo, my cousin. The other's my best friend, Grover Underwood." Grover came up and smirked at Percy after studying me for a while.

Nico spoke up first. "Introduce us to your girlfriend, Percy." Grover laughed as Percy's face heated up. Then again, I couldn't tell whose face was redder, mine or his. Ms. Beauregard would be disappointed that I didn't know how to conceal my emotions.

"Drink your hot chocolate, Annie. It's going to get cold." Thalia came up behind the boys, plopping down on the seat next to me. She looked Nico up and down, then nodded as if she approved. When she got to Grover, she immediately tensed.

Grover glared at her for a split second, so fast that I might not have been able to catch it if I hadn't been highly trained.

Apparently Percy noticed too. "You guys know each other?" Grover mumbled something while Thalia took a compact from her purse. Holding it in front of her face, she whispered to me.

"It's nothing. Must be my imagination." I knew better than to argue, so I held my tongue.

There was a moment of silence before Percy cleared his throat at Nico. "I'm waiting, Nico. While you're at it, get Grover something too." Nico sighed and got up. Grover quickly forgot his anger and snickered.

Grover's phone rang. Picking it up, he walked towards the door. "Yes? Oh, okay. But we're- fine. Tell Travis to rig it in advance. Yeah, alright. See you, Connor." He shoved the phone back into his pocket.

He shrugged at Percy. "Mr. Blofis assigned an extra credit project. We've got to get the jelly donuts for tonight." Percy nodded like he understood as I stared at him in confusion.

Thalia was confused too. Nico came over, looked at the others, and left, as if he had to go somewhere. After exactly 5.97 seconds, they glared at Nico's retreating figure and ran out to reclaim their drinks.

"Bye, Annabeth and company! Got to run!" Percy managed to yell as the door slammed. Thalia rolled her eyes at the drinks.

"Great. Now we've got _cold _chocolates. Let's ask if they could heat it up." She stood up and grabbed the drinks. The bells ringed and a young woman came bustling in. When she spotted me, she squealed in delight.

"Hi! I'm Meggy from the_ New York Times. _May I hit you up with a quick interview?" She practically exploded with cheerfulness. Before I could answer, she plowed on.

"What are your thoughts on that recent robbery a few weeks ago?" This time I was interrupted by Thalia.

"Hablan español, Annabeth. Haga de cuenta que somos extranjeros. *" Thalia gave a tiny nod. Meggy stared at us in confusion.

"Can-you-speak-English?" She spoke carefully, as if she were speaking to a two-year-old. I hid the grin that was forming on my mouth with a cough.

"Cuando saldrá esta señora estúpida?**" Meggy frowned. As we continued speaking in Spanish, she backed away. Finally, she threw up her arms in exasperation.

"I give up! Besides, that robbery is so, like, eight weeks ago!" She ran out the door, her high heels clicking on the marble floor. Thalia and I cracked up. I almost chocked on my (previously cold) hot chocolate.

Finally we left. It was 7:00, and if we left now, we could get back to school by 7:30.

_**Ms. Beauregard's classroom**_

_**Half-Blood High**_

_**8:00 P.M.**_

"We have to _what?"_

Our teacher skillfully twisted her dark raven hair into a knot as we gazed at the assignment.

_Find someone you don't know very well and find these facts._

_Name:_

_Age:_

_School:_

_Family:_

_Home address:_

_Phone number:_

_Closest friends:_

_Romantic interests:_

_Job:_

"You have until tomorrow at exactly 10:00. I suggest you start now, girls, if you wish to get a good grade."

She strolled out her perfectly decorated classroom towards the teachers' lounge. Thalia and I groaned; this was supposed to "train" us to be more observant, but it just made us crawl around in shadows all day stalking people.

Just then, Katie Gardner of the Demeter team came walking by. "Hey, guys. A bunch of us are going out tonight. You know, walk around town. You two in?" Thalia nodded for us. It gave a perfect excuse to be out late.

A perfect excuse for stalking Percy.

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><p>AN

Done!

You guys have no idea how hard that was. I tried translating some stuff to Spanish, then the whole thing got screwed up. I was pissed off majorly.

So, Meggy, how was it? Sorry I made you all… weird, but it fit, and provided some excellent space filling. :D

I am now looking for some OCs. You know, not important, but somewhere in the background. Give me a Mary Sue, and I'll strangle you. Really; I'll cut off your hands and reattach them to your butt. That was taken directly from my beta profile. :D

Again, hoped you liked it, Meg. You should be proud; your name is somewhere in this mess of words! :D

Buh-bye~ :D

Translations:

* "Speak Spanish, Annabeth. Pretend that we're foreigners."

** "When will this stupid lady leave?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N

I'M BACK~ :D

So winter break has just officially started, so that means I can sit on my lazy ass doing random crap all day now! Woot! :D

After weeks of not updating this story, I've decided to update. There's nothing better to do, and I was like, whyyyyyy notttt!

This chapter might come off sounding a bit detached, because I've been using another style of writing lately, and it's always hard coming back after a long break. Give me a break. Please.

Have a nice time reading~ (-^_^-)

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><p><em><strong>Dark Alley<strong>_

_**Downtown New York**_

_**9:25 P. M.**_

"Why are we in an alley again?"

I whispered quietly to Thalia. She rolled her eyes at me and went back to fiddling with the tracker. I slumped against a wall; sneaking was never my strength. Leave that to the Hades team or a Thalia who was dying to try out her new gadget.

I gazed at the Times Square. Stalls were set up along the street. Advertisements blinked brightly, just waiting to blind someone.

Not that I knew anything about that.

We had spent a few minutes with our friends before 'getting lost' in the busy streets. It's not like it was hard or anything. There were hundreds of people milling around. Getting their portraits painted, waiting for a horse-drawn carriage, you name it. Christmas week was New York's prime.

"I got it!" Thalia hissed excitedly at me. In her palm lay a small screen graphed neatly. Two dots blinked red, somewhere around here.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "How exactly did you get their location so quickly? Did you plant a chip in them?" Thalia was silent, staring out into the streets. After what seemed like millennia later, she gave a smile and grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the alley.

Yup; two teenage girls walking out of a dark alley. Don't mind us.

Since Thalia had the tracker, I let her pull me as I looked at the sights. I lived in San Francisco, and had come here for school. My dad was probably back home, making babies with my stepmother, who hated my guts with a burning passion.

"Hot dogs! Buy one, get one free! Get your hotdogs here!" I resisted the urge to buy one. Thalia was scanning the crowd. Easy for her, she wasn't the one dying from starvation.

She must have seen the look on my face, because she let go. "Go ahead." She sat down on a bench and tapped the screen a couple of times, making faces. "I lost them."

Not wanting to face her wrath, I quickly got in line. A boy with brown hair and elfish features was at the cash register, talking with a girl.

I stiffened. Katie. She seemed to be arguing with the boy while he smirked and crossed his hands across his chest. Katie rolled her eyes, cocked a hip, and stalked away. That guy must have pissed her off pretty bad.

Just when I got to the register, Thalia got up from the bench, and motioned for me to follow. She hastily sped away, leaving me to follow and try to ignore the dying feeling in my stomach.

"Watch it, girly!" a gruff voice spat at me as I got pushed to the side, almost crashing into the huge Christmas tree that towered over everything else.

What sat on top surprised me. It was a golden star. Pure gold. If we hadn't been so busy, we could've swiped it and netted in a few thousand dollars. I made a note in my mind to come back later.

I kept on running the way Thalia had gone. I saw a bit of her hair before she disappeared from view. I cursed myself for not bringing my own tracker. After a while, I stopped and plopped down on a random seat.

The view from there was amazing. I could see just about everything. A few yards from me, a news cast was filming, back towards the huge tree. The newscaster was my old friend, Meggy. Apparently she had gotten promoted.

"It's almost Christmas, New York! Now's the time to get into the spirit and get ready for the holidays! We're broadcasting from Times Square! As you can see, we have a real treat this year. The president of the mining company, Pluto Gold, has donated a genuine gold star. Let's give a hand to Hazel Levesque!"

Some passerby's had stopped to see what was going on. A young woman with 14-carat gold eyes and cocoa-colored skin smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Meggy grinned at the crowd. "Now, we've heard that you've had exceptional skills since you were a young girl. Do you have any comments?"

"I was raised in a very special atmosphere." With that, she looked at the crowd. When she got to me, she locked eyes and winked, as if we were sharing an inside joke. She looked a little familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

After a few minutes, the director yelled cut and they stopped filming. Even though I was dying to talk to Hazel, I stood up. I had to find Thalia.

As I walked down the street, I bumped into someone. He had curly brown hair, and looked exactly like the guy at the hot dog stand. I raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't I see you before?"

He shook his head and smirked. "That was probably my brother. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some friends to meet up with."

He started walking away before stopping. Facing me, he smiled. "Nice earrings." He disappeared into the crowd, going in the direction to the tree.

I stood frozen for a second, letting the information sink in. My earrings! I could talk to Thalia through the comms unit. Why didn't I think of that before? The loud Christmas music was really starting to wear down my mind.

I went to an empty corner, tapping a button on the owls. There was a soft static before Thalia's voice came in. She sounded annoyed.

"Annie, where _are _you?"

"Eh, I got a little lost. The question is where are _you?"_

"Whatever. Listen; meet me by that pizza place. We've got to talk."

The connection cut off, leaving me frustrated. The pizza place was all the way across the Square. I grit my teeth as I started jogging.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Pizza Mania<strong>_

_**New York**_

_**10:30 P. M.**_

I paced outside the pizzeria. She wasn't in there. After a while, Thalia emerged from the dark alley next to it. She smiled and motioned me over.

The alley was creepy, to put it lightly. A little light bulb was near the back door of the pizza place. Towards the back were a couple of dumpsters.

I followed Thalia towards the back. I raised an eyebrow at her when I saw the guy, struggling from his position. He was tied up with rope and had a piece of duct tape over his mouth.

Thalia grinned. "He's been following me around."

She ripped off the tape. The guy let out a manly scream, looking completely terrified. He probably saw the devil in Thalia.

"Annabeth, do your work." Questioning was one of my specialties. I grinned, crouching down to his level. The guy stiffened. He had light blue eyes and blond hair.

As he looked me over, he relaxed, probably thinking that I would untie him. How wrong he was.

"What's your name?"

He smiled, showing white teeth. "None of your business."

"I said, what's your name?"

"Why should I tell you?"

I whipped out a knife from my boot and pinned it to his neck. He let out a yelp. I smiled lightly. "Are you going to answer me or what?" I loosened my grip on the knife a little.

He swallowed carefully. "Will S-Solace."

"Okay, Will, why were you following my friend here?" He refused to look me in the eye. I dug in the knife a little. He froze, weakly raising his head and holding my gaze.

"She's cute."

"You don't know us." I swiped my knife at the bonds, letting them fall to the ground. Will scampered out of the alley. I faced Thalia. "He was lying."

She smirked. "Exactly why I planted a chip on him."

She took out her tracker. There was a dot blinking rapidly as it got away. I smiled, sliding the knife down my boot. This was going to be a long night.

We totally got sidetracked from our mission, but whatever.

* * *

><p>AN

Done~ :D

Anyone notice that Thalia didn't say who she was trying to follow?

So the guy was going to be Jason Grace, but then I remembered that he and Thalia are related. I was like, damn it.

That pizza place isn't real.

I made Hazel older than Annabeth in this story, because it'll fit right into the story.

Bye! :D


	4. Bye-bye!

Alright, so I thought people would get the message after I dropped off the face of the Earth, but guess not.

I'm done with this place. The experience was great, but I've switched writing websites. Can I just say that my writing has improved since I started on this website? If you're curious, I'm Vivinin on Wattpad. It's a lot more colorful and user-friendly. XD

So thanks for all the support! I appreciate you sticking with my terrible writing and I hope you guys all have a wonderful life and/or happily ever after. :D

Bye-bye!


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